Live Tonight: Keep Shelley in Athens, Rebelmart, Haim, Chris Smither

Keep Shelly in Athens is maybe the quintessential Gorilla vs. Bear band. The Greek duo landed a deal with a label run by the tastemaking music blog, the band’s wavy synths and chilled-out beats meshing with GvB’s vintage-photo aesthetic and penchant for promoting chillwave-type artists. New album At Home ventures into heady, down-tempo electronica. With Chad Valley, SPORTS. Barboza. 8 p.m. $13 adv. ANDREW GOSPE

Chris Smither plays the Tractor tonight.

Related Content

The voice of Molly Hamilton, of Widowspeak, is best described as a “spooky swoon.” It’s got that lazy, summertime lilt, but her harmonies tend to lean on the ghostly side. It gives Widowspeak’s lovely psyched-out, peace-sign vibes a haunted edge, which pairs wonderfully with its cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” With Pure Bathing Culture and Case Studies. Chop Suey. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS

Rebelmart is the “rock, folk, reggae, Irish, country, and punk” music of Scott Turner and Ian Hill—the latter of whom, with a team of investors, recently put in a bid to purchase the troubled Comet Tavern. Rebelmart’s genre-fused rock is a good metaphor for the bar, which over the years has been a second home to everyone from poets, actors, and political organizers to punks and grunge rockers. This show is NOT happening at the Comet, but across town at the High Dive, a venerable venue with its own story to tell. If you love the Comet, however, you should head out to this show—and support this band—because all proceeds will go to the nonprofit New Beginnings, which provides advocacy and shelter to victims of domestic violence. Ian Hill—geez, what a nice dude. With New Poverty, Darin Jones and Caleb Fischer. The High Dive. 8 p.m. $5. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT

Days Are Gone, the Billboard-charting debut album from the swoontastic Haim sisters three, is almost comically good. Every single goddamned song is an arena-worthy jam, riffing on pop icons of yore like Michael Jackson, T. Rex, and Destiny’s Child. Make sure not to miss Este Haim’s bass face. She’s got a severe case of bass face. With IO Echo. Neumos. 8 p.m. SOLD OUT. All ages. KS

I’m convinced Empire of the Sun is actually MGMT, but from an alternate universe where they kept making songs like “Kids” and “Electric Feel” rather than intentionally alienating psych-prog. The Australian duo’s slick, shamelessly catchy music seems engineered on the molecular level for neon lights, outdoor music festivals, and car commercials. With Alpine. The Paramount. 7:30 p.m. $35.75. All ages. AG

The fellas of Walk The Moon may be best known as that adorable quartet with a tendency to wear bright tribal makeup, but it just so happens this Cincinnati indie-pop act also makes dance-worthy tracks with hooks you’re not going to be able to forget (see: every song they’ve ever released). With the Mowglis and Smallpools. Showbox SoDo. 7 p.m. $20. All ages/21 and over bar with ID. KEEGAN PROSSER

Braids This Montreal four-piece is an experimental rock band whose songs sound constructed by a producer: carefully shifting textures, ambient synthesizers, and processed vocals that spout tantric meditations on love, friendship, and drugs. Some songs go on for eight or nine minutes, but there’s enough detail within them that they avoid self-indulgence. With Hundred Waters, Kodak to Graph. Sunset Tavern. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. AG

Chris Smither Blues guitarist Dave Alvin may be headlining this show, but it’s the cool, restrained playing of Chris Smither that clinches this killer bill. With the blues it’s all feeling and warbly riffs, and metaphors like “Dust My Broom” and “Big Long Sliding Thing” take precedence over plain, cut-the-bullshit lyricism. Which is why Smither rules. At 68, he can belt out the blues with the best of them, and his still-nimble fingers work the fretboard without missing a note. Add to that Smither’s seasoned, world-weary tone and natural gift for storytelling, and nearly everything the artist produces feels unforced and honest. “Your loss is measured in illusions,” Smither sings in “Winsome Smile.” “Your﻿ gain is all in bitter-sweet intelligence/And your winsome smile will lose some of its innocence.” He may be singing about a breakup, but the fact that he’s somehow OK with it to impart such an acute observation without resorting to jokes makes you wish more people saw things that way. With Peter Case, Rick Shea. Tractor. 8 p.m. SOLD OUT. GE